The Chip Ganassi Ford GTs dominated the GTLM qualifying session at Watkins Glen as Richard Westbrook twice broke into the 1m41s in the No.67 Ford, ending the session with a 1m41.948 for pole, a tenth up on Joey Hand’s best in the sister No.66. Westbrook actually posted three lap times faster than Hand’s effort, although he fell short of beating his own GTLM qualifying record here set two years ago.
“That was a great fight with Joey in qualifying,” Westbrook said post-session. “This is a very special track to me, one of the first I raced at in America and I always want to come back for more here.”
Westbrook reported no dropoff whatsoever on the Michelin tires, which had been a major concern among all the runners with tomorrow’s current weather forecast predicting air temperatures around or exceeding 100 degrees.
The final moments of the 15-minute session saw both Corvettes leapfrog their Porsche rivals; Tommy Milner followed through as the checkered flag came out to best Antonio Garcia (who had a spin earlier in the session after clattering a curb.
The No.4 Corvette ended the session third fastest, three tenths off the slower of the Fords with Garcia just edging out the quicker of the Porches for fourth in class.
The No.911 (Earl Bamber) 911 RSR finished the session a tenth clear of the sister No.912 car of Patrick Pilet with the BMW pair completing the class line-up.
Comments